Search

So, we thought we’d switch it up a bit this week and have some fun with the Myers-Briggs personality type indicators! We all took the test (and you can take it here!), and found that the results were eerily accurate! What was also interesting was seeing how many of us were either compatible or the same personality type (three of us are INFJs!).

We decided to share the results–along with lines from our personality analyses that especially resonated with us–and want to see if we match up with any of YOU GUYS.

So have some fun today–go take the test! And feel free to share your results in the comments! Do you agree with your analysis–or is it totally inaccurate?

~~

I am an INFP, a Dominant Introverted Feeling. From the analysis, I’d say the one line I really identify with/think embodies me is,

“They live for the understanding of others and feel deeply grateful when someone takes the time to get to know them personally.”

I think this explains why I love to write. I feel like I can fully share who I am and how I feel through my stories–my characters and plots wear the emotions I can’t express in normal conversation. Plus, I’m incredibly shy and meeting people has never been easy for me…yet I really enjoy it when I get the chance. So when people take the time to read my stuff, comment on my blog, or just chat for a little while on skype, I always feel incredibly, over-the-top happy. I know it sounds silly, but it feels like a real honor that anyone would actually want to talk to me. SO THANKS, GUYS! Joining LTWF was without a doubt the best thing that happened to me in the last year (yes, even better than my book deal). 🙂

I’m an INFJ, a Introverted Intuitive Feeling Judging. While the whole INFJ analysis was pretty spot-on, this passage really resonated with me:

“INFJs…are, in fact, sometimes mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are so genuinely interested in people — a product of the Feeling function they most readily show to the world. ….At intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates. This apparent paradox is a necessary escape valve for them, providing both time to rebuild their depleted resources and a filter to prevent the emotional overload…”

As a writer, I feel like I often get the most inspiration just by LIVING–by going out there and meeting new people and seeing new things, by keeping myself open to anything and everything. But at the same time, I need that personal space (“alone time”) in order to sort out all of that–and later insert it into my writing (maybe). While a lot of the inspiration for my stories might come from the outside world, in order to WRITE, I have to shut out the world a bit, too. Which is why being around writers (and LTWF) is so amazing–I never really have to explain that kind of behavior to them. 😀

I am an INTJ, an Introverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Judging. Mostly my reactions to my results were to celebrate the negative aspects of it, because it turns out a lot of the personality stuff I’ve struggled with in the past (excessive logic, lack of externalized emotion, inability to comprehend social interactions, etc.) were simply symptoms of a common personality type. What a relief!

But the part that I feel most embodies my personality type is this (taken from a different site):

“The internal form of the INTJ’s thoughts and concepts is highly individualized, and is not readily translatable into a form that others will understand. However, the INTJ is driven to translate their ideas into a plan or system that is usually readily explainable, rather than to do a direct translation of their thoughts.”

This passage truly shows my motivation in both writing and blogging. I feel driven to reassemble information in a way that is easily accessible and relatable to others. Sometimes that means passing down lessons I’ve learned in ways that resonate with people struggling with things I’ve struggled with. Other times it means making complex ideas and laws easy to understand for my coworkers. Noveling is another form of transferring information, hopefully in a way that will stick with you for the rest of your life. I’m so grateful to have a platform to get my message across, and thanks to the other LTWF members for putting up with my INTJ weirdness 🙂

Like Sarah, Kat and Julie, I’m an INFJ! The test is freakishly accurate, but there was one point that really resonated with me:

“Their mind usually travels from the past to the future, seeking to fit a particular situation in a large context.”

I think that’s why I write the way I do. Only two of my stories have been contemporary — everything else was either historically based or set far into the future. It certainly might explain why I have such an affinity for dystopians! I love thinking about what comes next and how it relates to things I’ve already experienced.

18 Responses to “QOTW: Myers-Briggs Type Indicators”

I’m an ENFJ. I think this is fairly accurate for me. Especially this part: “Their offices may or may not be cluttered, but their conclusions (reached through feelings) about people and motives are drawn much more quickly and are more resilient than those of their NFP counterparts.”

Introverts are apparently taking over the writing world.
I’mma ISTP – Introverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving. What can I say? I’m a Ravenclaw.

“They are less interested in running the world as they are in understanding it. They are curious and capable of explaining complex political, economic or technological problems, taking great pleasure in explaining all the factors and intricacies. They are rigorous with their thoughts and analysis, choosing the exact words that convey precisely what is meant.”

So how I write. D : My worldbuilding binders, and the amount of research I need to do before I’m happy with a draft….laaaarge.
Actually, as I write I’m staring at the enormous stack of books I overzealously checked out of the library to use for an essay….hmmm.

Haha, I’m an INPF!! This was scary accurate – how did they KNOW I’m absent minded? The test was sort of comforting in a strange way. Maybe I’m not so strange, after all. The section on how INPF can fail in competence (and that being NORMAL) makes me feel a lot better about myself. As well as being a little otherworldly.

Although I have to admit, a lot of times I like to say that I am an extroverted introvert – and I totally agree with Sooz. It’s so uncomfortable to meet new people sometimes and to mingle with people outside my usual circle but once I fit, it feels like the whole world just clicked.

And I love how they say that INPFs are verbal artists with inclinations for language. *grins*

Another INFJ in da house! The description was eerily accurate. Are they STALKING me?!

Some descriptions that were right on the mark:
“…sometimes mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are genuinely interested in people…”
– Totally true. I am still taken aback when others describe me as ‘outgoing’…

“…at intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates…”
– Guilty as charged. I’ve actually taken leave just to be at home by myself, lol

I was just talking to a friend yesterday about personality types! I too am an INFJ, clearly a big winner for writers. I also recently read that it was the rarest of the types, with only 3% or so of the population falling into that type.

i love the myers-briggs test. there’s a harry potter character equivalent, too, if anyone’s interested: http://piratemonkeysinc.com/quiz.php.
i, too, am an INFJ. there’s a bizarrely high concentration of them in this post–in the population at large, only 1% are INFJs.

The sentence that resonated with me: “Here these thinkers ponder the apparent chaos of the world in order to extract from it the universal truths and principles that can be counted on.”

LOL. I just spent a week shut in at home, writing a paper of political philosophy, and getting excited at every new discovery I made (it’s all logic, folks). I’m really at the crossroads between the scientific and the literary. I love art, and art theory. I think my blogs shows it enough: I can’t leave literature alone; part of my enjoying it implies discussing different aspects of it, making points, and I LOVE conflict in the form of debates, as long as it’s respectful.

I am definitely intuitive and by no means “sensing”, though. I wonder how come that’s not supposed to make a difference in your personality type (since they group them together). The letter I had the most trouble deciding upon was actually Introverted vs Extroverted. So I looked up ENTP and I think there are some things I can relate to as well:

“Words are their best friends. They dance around ideas, the more, the merrier. […] They use metaphors, stories, images and analogies to make their point. They love theories and often shape their own. They see patterns emerging. […] The sky is the only limit.”

That was so much fun – I am an INFP, a Dominant Introverted Feeling, like Sooz! It’s dead on. The personality types are great for developing characters! Speaking of, next Friday can you ladies do the test for your main characters?!

I’m ESFJ. I’ve been thinking recently that authors must all be I’s because I’ve been stuck at home for various reasons and feel like I’m wilting without human interaction whereas you ladies discuss disappearing into your stories and characters for large periods of time. That being said I have a friend who often masquerades as an E, he likes to say that society often prefers skills that come naturally to E’s so most I’s can fakeit, but how you really know is by looking at what you do when you’re tired and need to re-energize. I’s will need alone time, while E’s (like me) seek out people to help them feel better, I certainly have noticed this in my life, have you?

Pretty much the entire description resonates with me but here are the particularly relevant bits:

“Their sense of right and wrong wrestles with an overwhelming rescuing, ‘mothering’ drive.”
and
“Not that the ESFJ is paranoid; ‘hyper-vigilant’ would be more precise.”

I forgot, the Myers-Briggs I took had percentages for each letter that was like “how certain we are that this is your type.” Mine were all really high and I find that I often identify pretty strongly with ESFJ descriptions but I’ve had friends who were iffy on a letter or more and they often identify with two or more type descriptions pretty equally.

Oooh i got INFJ too! It is a really interesting test, i thought that the idea of ‘using dates and targets to manage life’ was very me i live my life with lists and post it notes with things i have to do, i also am unsettled by conflict, i hate being around people who are fighting even if it isn’t anything to do with me!! thanks for sharing the test girls! 😀

I think it would be interesting for someone to read the descriptions and pick things that apply to them before they take the test, because I wonder how much of the this is so me is because you want to confirm your result. Because I can see myself doing that. It’s cool how all ya’ll are so compatible. BTW I’m an ENFJ 🙂

I am an ENFP; I wasn’t going to reply, but seeing the alarming number of introverts taking over this page, I thought I’d contribute 🙂
I am a dead ringer for the whole description, but the sentence that most succintly describes the way I live is this: “Their greatest difficulty is not in initiating projects but in choosing among so many possibilities, setting realistic boundaries, establishing priorities and correctly assessing resources.”
And that is why I have so many unfinished WIPs…